Japan--The Scrappers Nirvana

[Know Common Cents]

I'm not one to joyfully delight or capitalize on the misfortune of others, but just imaging the scrapping possibilities in the Japanese rubble. I suspect that many countries are even pulling freighters out of mothballs to press into use to haul away millions of metric tons of steel, copper, nickel, etc.

The smart ones will be able to haul the scrap and then return with the finished product. That roundtrip cycle could be profitable for many years. Travel time to and from Japan is critical since loads must be maximized in minimum time. Excepting some type of specialized equipment or other fabricated product, the US won't be the greatest benefactor of the rebuilding. The obvious winners would be China and Korea, but also other countries in the Far East such as Viet Nam, Malaysia, Singapore and others.

It's going to be really interesting to see how all this plays out in the next months and years. There's going to be vast fortunes made and I certainly can't be the first and most astute one to think about it.

Perhaps we could build a Cu freighter and all serve 6 months on the crew of it. Really smart business people would help turn the Somali pirates into good guys by pressing them into service with regular runs between Japan and other ports of call.

You can say you heard the pirate thing here first.

[wayne1956]

Before I got any of that scrap I would want to look at it at night to see if it glows!!!

[hobo finds]

http://www.scrapmonster.com/news/japan- ... rds/9/1410

[silversaddle1]

Most of that scrap will never leave Japan. Remember, they are a island with no natural resources. They are very well set up to recycle everything in country.